Philippines’ Tony La Viña on building a global coalition to end climate change

Poor farmers, indigenous peoples, women, local communities and other vulnerable populations should be part of the planning process in climate change adaptation and mitigation, says Tony La Viña. Picture Credit: Copyright 2013 JMA/EUMETSAT

WARSAW, Poland — U.N. climate talks were launched this week with a renewed sense of urgency as officials in the Philippines took tally of the full impact of one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, which slammed into the country’s shores a few days before.

Some observers blamed climate change for the size and scale of the super typhoon — the fourth-most intense tropical cyclone on record — which left thousands of people dead and displaced.
During the opening speeches at the climate summit in Warsaw at Poland’s National Stadium, Yeb Saño, Philippines’ climate change commissioner, announced a hunger strike, stating that he would not eat until a “meaningful outcome is in sight”.